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Ford Focus Hatchback ZX3 - Part XI
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Washer fluid-for those of you who were wondering where the bladder is, you can see it next to the front driver's side tire (underneath the car). I didn't think it was a big tank, but I almost put in a whole gallon of fluid. After it was in I looked for noticeable leaks and found none. I wonder if it was even filled up at the dealership (plant).
Tranny noise-Yes , the noise still concerns me as well. I think it sounds like the clutch, gears, etc. aren't reseting properly. Now that I have ramps I'm going to find out where the noise is coming from, but I'm fairly certain that it's in the tranny. Also, I think we can throw out the idea of the metal heat shield as a potential noise maker. My heat shields are firmly attached to the car.
Oil saga-I found out that not all the diff. brands of filters that fit our cars have the same oil wrench. Not fun once I had the car on ramps and already had the oil drained out, but it eventually came loose. I thought the procedure was fairly simple, though I agree that the oil filter is in a tough place. Also, while I think it's impossible to remove the filter without spilling some oil on the engine, it was easy to wipe off. I wonder if that's the oil smell problem some people are experiencing, though my gut tells me it's probably not. Anyway, successful oil change #1, 982 miles, 4.5 qts.
Overall, I feel more comfortable with my Z after inspecting the engine. She's much more complicated than the Jeep Wrangler I drove previously, and I shudder at the fact that there are so many computer, electronic related problems that could go wrong that I can't fix. Older engines seem so much easier to diagnose and fix.
Happy ZZZZZ's
Re: mess after filter removal - after I'm done with the filter change, I put on eye protection and spray the area under the filter with Brakleen. This is great stuff, as it degreases on contact, washes away the spillage, and evaporates in a flash. Very handy to keep around the garage.
To the person with the misaligned door - are you positive it isn't the sill moulding that is mis-aligned? Door alignment can be a real bear, and if you get it wrong, you are going to have latching problems, rattles, and wind noise - let the dealer fool with it.
I couldn't find that TSB you were referring to...
I found three that were for the Auto tranny, but I believe none were the one to which you referred.
point it out for us eh?
thanks,
Gabe
I haul gasoline, jetfuel, diesel fuel for a living. About 18 years now. The refineries usually increase their octane to keep the product quality up there. If you are purchasing 87.0 Octane from a good source, you are probably getting atleast 88.0 octane.
Just make sure you are buying your gas from a good supplier. Any of the local large chains will do, doesn't have to be one of the "big" companies. Usually a good clean station indicated good clean product. Remember, newer stations have newer tanks. DON'T buy your gas when a tanker is making a delivery. It stirs up anything on bottom of the stations tank, i.e. dirt, rust, water. The filters get plugged and bypass this. You want to wait at least 1/2 hour for it to settle before buying your gas.
Gabe,
Thanks, August is on top of us.
Pat
They get the same MTX-75 manual tranny.
Check out their "Chasing the noise" topic:
http://contour.org/cgi/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Problems&number=3&DaysPrune=10&LastLogin=
My 2 cents on octane: I had a brief delusional period where I thought that higher octane gas would be beneficial to my crappy Tercel. After paying several dollars more for gas for a while, I woke up and realized that higher octane wasn't doing a thing for my car. The whole thing is a big scam. Stick to 87; that's all we need for our little z's.
Gasoline is not a simple chemical, but a melange of different hydrocarbons. Some of these incorporate ring structures as you say (some of these are aromatic), some have no rings but do have double or triple carbon bonds, but the majority are simple hydrocarbons, which are named according to the number of carbons, as in "octane", which has 8. There are also small amounts of compounds containing oxygen, nitrogen, or sulphur. Fuel makers try to get rid of these because they produce strong acids that attack your engine, lungs etc.
Anyway, one important aspect of any fuel is it's energy content, and as I recall this is what octane measures. There is a standard way of measuring the energy content of a gasoline by using it to run a special engine and measuring the work done. The test is calibrated so that a fuel consisting entirely of n-octane would score 100; 87 means 87% of pure n-octane (The "n" means 8 carbons in a line, rather than in a "T" or "H", say - these configurations have slightly different energy contents.)
Generally speaking, a higher proportion of heavier fractions (with more carbons) is needed in order to get a higher octane fuel (because generally, large hydrocarbons have more energy than small ones.) As you say, these don't ignite as easily as lighter fractions, and so are resistant to "pre-igniting." But they are also harder to burn completely, leaving you with unburnt hydrocarbons in your engine and exhaust.
Aside from achieving the desired octane level, fuel makers manipulate the proportion of volatile fractions regionally and seasonally so that your car will start easily at what is likely to be the ambient temperature.
All of the above was salvaged from from my distant (and alcohol-soaked) early university years, so I apologize for whatever I've gotten wrong.
have any of this nonsense with fouled-up engines
or fuel.the catalytic converter is another culprit.
return to what worked well in the first place.
The Hindenburg."
Cheep gas (Arco, Conoco, Exxon, etc.) makes my car noticeably more sluggish. I try to stick with Texaco and Chevron. You'll end up with fewer deposits and less sluggishness.
Actually, it now looks like the Hindenburg went up so spectacularly because it was painted with the same stuff that is used today as the fuel in the solid rocket boosters that help launch the space shuttle. Namely aluminum powder and some some binders. All that was required was a good static zap (it happened during a thunderstorm) and poof! The hydrogen made for a pretty big flame after the fact, but it wasn't the primary cause of the disaster.
The big reason hydrogen isn't used as automobile fuel is that it takes as much energy to produce the stuff as you get when you burn it. Until someone develops a cheap way to seperate the hydrogen and ozygen in water, hydrogen won't be of much value.
P.S. I've also posted this in the zx3 prices conference, but there seems to be little participation there at this time.
Actually that's a terrible idea IMHO . It's great for the cars but awful for us. If it did not pollute the environment, plants and animals and give brain damage to kids, then I'm sure it would be in the gas.
Maybe you were making a joke and I missed it.? :>)
I used Edmunds.com to get invoice pricing and then e-mailed some websites and dealers for quotes. I didn't like my contact at Carsdirect - he kept trying to put me in a ZX3 without the options I wanted.
Besides the $100 profit, my dealer will also get 3% of the MSRP back from Ford - so they did alright and it was worth it to me for their no-hassle approach.
of the so-called re-formulated,so-called(enviro-
friendly) green gas which is now mandated year-round in philly-area is more harmful than leaded-
fuel from a more sensible time ever was.the pendulum to protect us from allege harm has swung
wildly way to the left.maybe we can hear from states where this fuel was once mandated and now banned.im all for safe clean air,now this garbage we are federally-mandated to use is suspected to be
polluting our water supply.are you still enjoying your z?
Oh, and the car is running nice thank you.
Taking it in tomorrow for the first oil change and tire rotation if needed. Nice thing about this dealership is they have a mini 'jiffy lube' on site so you do not need to make an appointment.
I found a superchip on sale for fairly cheap i think.. is it worth buying? what exactly would it do? what does the chip normally cost? any feedback would be appreciated.
thanks
I've just been back to the dealer a THIRD time to get my ZX3's driver side door latch fixed; seems an inside cable is defective, and I have to roll down my window and open it from the outside. Been like this now for about two months (car is only four months old!).
On my first visit, it took the dealer two days to figure out that they had to special order the part (which means you have to wait 14 days or so for the part to come in). I then went back when the part came in, only to find out that it was the wrong part! ("Don't worry, we'll get it right next time!") On the third trip, I'm told the part is in, but after leaving my car there again for two days, I'm told that whatever part it was that came in was inadvertently sent back to Ford, and now they can't get it because this problem may be Ford-wide -- the part is not available and has to be (get this) manufactured first and then distributed. No telling when that will happen.
The dealer has been sympathetic to the problem but little else: every step of the way they keep saying to me, "oh, on new model cars, this happens, it's hard to get parts." Like I was born yesterday. This is the 7th new car I've bought in the past 20 years, and all my other new cars (which were Hondas, Mitsubishi or Nissan) never had any such problem with parts. On top of all this, the skilled Ford mechanics put a couple of obvious nicks into the door panel vinyl -- which they will replace, but only because I saw it and demanded that they do something. And on top of that, I had to fight with them to get a loaner on my third visit!
Meanwile, my car wouldn't even pass a Maryland state vehicle inspection because being able to open your driver's door is a safety item that they check. Turns out Maryland has a state automobile lemon law (MD Commercial Code section 14-1502). Pursuant to that law, I just sent Ford a letter via certified mail return receipt demanding that the problem be fixed within 30 days.
So, thank God for lemon laws, and let's see what happens next ... the ball is now in Ford's court.
Opinions on this vary, but the consensus around here is that the chip alone doesn'yt do that much, but it is good in combination with other power mods.
Remember, chips in normally aspirated engines don't do nearly as much as they do in turbos, where they can adjust maximum PSI, etc. For NAs, they mostly adjust the engine to runs more powerfully on high octane fuel (here we go again).
The company (http://www.superchips.com) suggests that you order direct and provide the number on your computer so that they have a chiup that is properly calibrated for your specific car.
The polish stains are back. Sigh. Will go looking for something else to do the job today. I'll ask the service guys when I get the oil changed in the next hour.
So if scotch guard & g shock got this board back in the top 10 that should catapult it into the edmunds ford focus information board along with the options
thx for the info on the chip... im not sure if it's wort it to get, but for around a hundred bucks i was thinkin about it.
pat, it is a SUPERCHIP brand chip
on another note, could someone tell me exactly how much the value of the 2000 Z is going to drop since it is the end of the model year? i need to find this out so I can use it against my dealer. since they shafted me on my delivery time... i wanna go back there and put it to him like this. since they're taking so long, by the time it comes, as one of you guys here pointed out to me, it will be considered a year old by blue book value and therefore most likely be of lesser value than what I am paying.
any numbers are appreciated.
thanks
Mine, with 5500 miles is worth $15,200 retail and $13,200 trade-in. Funny, 'cause I paid $14,300 for it, so theoretically I can sell my car for a profit =]
Service man told me he uses something called Googone to get rid of the polish stains on the plastic trim. Said it is orange in color and sole at places like K-mart.
Any feedback on this??
Frank
Service man told me he uses something called
'Googone' to get rid of the polish stains on the
plastic trim. Said it is orange in color and sold
at places like K-mart.
Any feedback on this??
Frank
PS Always do a spellcheck. :>)
world economy.thats the high-priced paid for letting all the u.s.mfg. jobs leave.its the cold hard facts.
be pose more potential hazards than the original
formulations.especially mtbe,which has been showing
up in local water,from fallout.i had nearly forgotten the fouled-up spark plugs you mentioned.
replacing plugs,points,condenser,rotor,cap +wires.
or any part for that matter use to be a fun and
a fairly routine task.there was also a lot more room to work around.
But, has anyone actually used this for polish removal?
to clean the rest off,it smears everywhere.the
product is oil-based.probably works on molding like
the peanut butter.hey,you can always download the
the adventures of goo gone guy comic book.
pcleveland2--I agree that the sticker about an exchange program for auto tranny is a little frightening. It seems as though I read somewhere that there was a design flaw in the transmission that was designed by Mazda for the North American Focus. Maybe this means that they will have new transmission available after 8/31 rather than than a "fix". Sigh
Let it soak in.